New Beginnings
by j.curl
Summary: AU When Kagome's grandpa dies, she moves to Tokyo and goes to a different school. Needs to be revised...don't read it yet.
1. New Beginnings

A/N: Kagome's thoughts are in italics, her flashbacks will be marked with *'s and the words (flashback/end flashback). Lines of * indicate a period of time has gone by or a hind of point of view change..ok I just put those line things in randomly, where I think a kind of pause thing is needed. Sheesh! Also, I need a vote on the pairings, Kag/Sess or Kag/Inu? You have until ch. 4; I'll try to update every couple of days. It'll take a week at the most, I promise. NO FLAMES!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not know Inuyasha and Co. That's ok because you don't either.  
  
Kagome sighed as she started unpacking her last box of stuff. This one held pictures of her old life, friends from her old school. She picked up a stack of picture frames, sat on her bed, and looked through them. The first showed her and her grandfather dressed in the traditional garb of a priest and priestess from the Sengoku Jidai era, posing in front of the shrine that was her home for fifteen years. He was the one who had taught her how to use a bow and arrow, a skill he said that ancient mikos, were quick to acquire.  
  
"Grandfather," she thought, "why did you have to leave? I miss you so much!" A single tear dropped from her striking cobalt blue eyes, the only apparent trace of her deceased father's American heritage. She dried her eyes and sighed, set the picture frame on the stand next to her bed, and continued. This was of her, Eri, Yuki, and Ayume, during their weekend at the beach; a present from her mom as though it would absolve her from the sin of forcing her family to move.  
  
******flashback******* "Honey, you need to understand!" her mom cried, "we have to do this!" "No we don't!" Kagome yelled back. "Grandfather would have wanted us to stay in Matsue and take care of the shrine! You just want to move because everything there reminds you of his death! You're being selfish and thinking only of your feelings!"  
  
SMACK*  
  
"How dare you speak to me like that! I'm your mother!" she choked out. Kagome just glared at her mother, hand against her cheek  
  
"I'll never forgive you!" she shouted.  
  
******end flashback******  
  
That was the first time her mother had struck her. The ended up reconciling a few hours later, but the fight still stuck in Kagome's mind. She knew her mother cared for her; that was evident in the next picture frame. This one was of the last track meet of the year; Kagome had won by at least 30 yards in the mile race; her time, a school record. Her mother and her were hugging while Sota jumped around them, waving Kagome's first place medal around and shouting. She smiled and traced her fingers across the picture, then stood and put that on the shelf with the rest of her trophies and awards. She hoped she would be able to make this school's team. Hoshi High was supposed to have an extremely good track program.  
  
The next picture was also the final one of the pile in her hands. It was of her and Hojo, her boyfriend of nearly a year. He was the sweetest guy a girl could ask for, bringing her little surprises every now and then, walking her to every class even though it made him late sometimes, he seemed like the perfect guy, and so romantic!  
  
******flashback****** "Hojo-chan, I've come to tell you that I'm moving to Tokyo in 8 days." Kagome said, tears threatening to drop out of her eyes. "Oh Kagome-koi! Don't cry. We can still be together!" Hojo replied, trying to comfort her. "No we can't!" she cried, "I'm moving halfway across the country! Oh Hojo- chan, I don't want to leave you! Hojo folded his girlfriend into an embrace and let her cry into his shoulder. "In one year you turn 18; then you can move back here with me and we'll be together!" he said. "I love you and even though we can't be together for a little while, I will be with you in your heart until we see each other again.  
  
(a/n: ahaha, hojo sounds sooo gay and corny! Sorry but that serves my purpose somehow! I kinda feel bad the way he's always after kagome and she blows him off. but back to the story)  
  
"I'll always love you Hojo,"  
  
******end flashback******  
  
She just had to wait two years and then she and Hojo could be together again. He had left a few hours ago, after helping her family move into the new house. He said he would visit again, but it took over six hours to get to her new house from his!  
  
"Kagome!!! Dinner!!"  
  
A shout from downstairs interrupted her train of thought.  
  
"Coming!" she yelled back, putting that last picture on the nightstand next to her bed and walked downstairs to join her mother and brother.  
  
"Guess what Mom made, Kagome!" her little brother Souta yelled as she reached the bottom of the stairs.  
  
"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" She replied.  
  
"Oden!," Souta informed his sister, knowing it was her absolute favorite meal.  
  
Kagome smiled at her little brother but inside she sighed. Her mother had gone out of her way to make the move easier for everyone, buying Souta the new video game he had been asking for, having practice courts built in their spacious back yard for Kagome's archery practice, and sending both of them to the most elite schools in the area. "Speaking of archery, I had better get to practicing before I forget how to shoot!" Kagome mused as she entered the dining area.  
  
***********************************************************  
  
"Wow Mom! That was great!" Kagome said as she finished her last bite of oden.  
  
"I'm glad you enjoyed it dear," her mother replied with a smile. "Now why don't you go break in your new backyard practice court."  
  
"I was just thinking that earlier!" she responded, rising from the table. She went to the hall closet, the spot she had decided on storing her bow and arrows, and made her way to the backyard. It was amazing how professional the targets looked, Grandfather had her practicing on paper bull's-eyes latched onto hay bales before he died. Kagome frowned at that thought and strung her bow. It wouldn't do to cloud her mind with sadness when she was trying to concentrate on her archery. She pulled an arrow from her quiver, put an arrow to her bow, and aimed.  
  
THWACK!  
  
Kagome smiled at her arrow, which was dead center in the target. "Well now, it seems like I still have it." She decided to do a few more singles and work up to doubles and triples. She had yet to consistently hit her doubles and her triples marched around the outside of the target's center.  
  
*******************************************************  
  
The sun was nearly all the way down, with only a sliver left when Kagome decided she should finish up. The dying light was no problem; her mom had installed floodlight so darkness wouldn't be a problem. All in all, Kagome was proud of herself. She had hit her doubles more often than not and had even hit one of her triples. "Maybe the time off was a good thing" she thought to herself. She unstrung her bow and picked up the scattered arrows and her quiver. Besides, tomorrow was her first day at Hoshi High School and she didn't was to have raccoon eyes from being up all night. She put away her arrows and then knocked softly on her mother's bedroom door. She pushed it slightly ajar when she heard a rustle.  
  
"Mom, I'm in for the night," Kagome whispered softly.  
  
"Ok good night sweetie." Her mother replied. Kagome started to close the door when she heard her mothers voice call to her again.  
  
"How'd you do?" came her mother's voice from the dark.  
  
"I hit a triple," she replied with a smile. "Good night Mom." She closed the door and made her way upstairs, the smile still on her lips. She made her way into her bedroom and got dressed for bed. As she laid down, butterflies began fluttering in her stomach in response to her thoughts of tomorrow's first day at her new school. She smiled though, in spite of her nervousness; tomorrow was a new beginning. But her thoughts inevitably turned to Hojo. He was the best thing that had happened to her, she decided. Always there for her, and the sweetest guy ever. In her heart though, she knew it wouldn't work, but her mind kept telling her to hold on. She rolled over and sighed, and then gave a smile; she sure had been sighing a lot lately.  
  
Ok it might seem kinda boring right now, but I promise it gets good. I try to make the time go by in my fic a little more realistic-ish so don't expect kagome to be dating someone in ch. 2 or something like that. Please R&R! 


	2. The First Day

I got my first ever review! Thank you rurede! The reason why I didn't dramatize Kagome's angst, was because, in my head, I was thinking that she had been crying non-stop for eight days-the amount of time from when she found out to the move itself.This is my first fanfic, so constructive criticism is definitely appreciated! When I write sometimes, I forget to put stuff in so something may not make sense to you. If I do this again, please tell me!  
  
Ch 2  
  
Kagome stood in front of the mirror, scanning her reflection for any imperfections. Her uniform was like her old one, but navy blue in the places her old one had been green. The color complemented her eyes and suited her complexion. Ayume had constantly told her that her skin was like the color of moonlight, though Kagome was always quick to laugh and tell her she was being silly. It just seems like something's missing, Kagome thought. She had an idea and opened up her jewelry box. In it's own special drawer, sat a yellow silk flower studded with rhinestones. It was a gift from her father that he had brought home from his last trip to America.  
  
******(flashback)******  
  
"What is it Papa?" a young Kagome asked, her eyes wide with wonder.  
  
"It's called an orchid, Sweets," her father explained as her took it out of her hands and placed it into her hair. He held her at arms length and smiled at her. "You make it beautiful, Love."  
  
Kagome giggled when her father kissed her; his mustache tickled.  
  
******(end flashback)*****  
  
That was the last time she had seen him, the plane crash had taken his life, along with 87 others. She placed it in her hair as he had done so long ago and stood back to admire the effect.  
  
"mmrrrooowww," came a sound from the doorway.  
  
"You like, Buyo?" Kagome said in response to her cat's sound of approval. Or perhaps it was the sound his kitty-mind produced when wanting to taste the thing she had decided to put in her hair.  
  
"Too bad for you Buyo!" she grinned and made her way down the stairs. She stopped in the kitchen to down a glass of orange juice and grab a piece of toast.  
  
"You had better get going sweetie, before you're late on your first day." Her mom said giving her a kiss and handing her lunch to her. "Your bag's by the door."  
  
"Thanks Mom! See you after school!" Kagome yelled slinging her trusty yellow backpack on her shoulder, already halfway out the door.  
  
**************************************************  
  
She knew that if she kept staring, her eyes would probably fall out. This was her school? It was the most amazing thing she had ever seen! It was about five stories high and at least 8 times larger than her old school. Kagome felt tears start to form in her eyes. No, she told herself, I have done enough crying over the move. She made her way up the front stairs just as the 3-minute bell rang and decided that she had absolutely no clue as to where she needed to be.  
  
"Excuse me," she tapped the shoulder of the nearest student. "Can you." She was immediately interrupted and confronted with the student on his knees, with her hand clasped in both of his.  
  
"Heaven has surely smiled on me today," the student said, causing Kagome to doubt the boy's sanity. "Tell me angel, what do you call yourself?"  
  
"Ka...Kagome," came the stuttered reply.  
  
"Ah, a beautiful name for a beautiful woman," he continued "tell me, my angel, Kagome, will you bear my children?"  
  
~Whump~  
  
Kagome was now confronted with a very unconscious male student at her feet and an exasperated looking female student standing on the other side of him. The girl shook her head,  
  
"Don't mind Miroku, he says that to everyone. My name is Sango, you must be a new student, otherwise, you would have never touched The Pervert."  
  
Kagome quite taken aback with the whole fiasco, could only nod.  
  
"Well then let me show you to the office, come on, before he wakes up and tries to grab your butt." Sango continued, looping her arm in Kagome's. By this time, Kagome had shed her paralysis and introduced herself.  
  
"My name's Kagome by the way. Have you lived in Tokyo all your life?"  
  
"Yep!" Sango replied "Where did you move from?"  
  
"Matsue" she replied.  
  
"Oh really? I've never been there."  
  
And so the niceties of polite conversation continued. Kagome learned a lot about Sango. Her brother, Kohaku, went to the same school as Souta, her birthday was the day after her own, she was a junior like her, and she was into kendo. Kagome also learned a lot about the school. Sango told her about the hottest guy in school. Nearly every girl wanted to be with him.  
  
"So what is his name?" Kagome asked, still wondering how one guy could m.  
  
"Sesshomaru, he is probably the most gorgeous guy in Tokyo. His father owns Youkai Corp.," Sango replied, naming one of the most well known businesses in the industrial world.  
  
But before Sango could go into further details of him, they were at the office.  
  
"I'll come in with you and see if Principal Kaeda will let me show you around." She frowned "But it's not my turn to shadow a new student, so you'll probably have some random person do it instead." They entered the office and Sango led Kagome through the process. They were finally allowed to see Principal Kaeda, but to Kagome's dismay, Sango was not to show her around.  
  
"Ahh you must be Kagome," Kaeda said. "I'm sorry but I have already called in the student who you are going to shadow; he should be here shortly. Sango, thank you, the secretary will write a pass for you to go to class."  
  
Sango left the principal's office and Kagome heard a gasp then a squeal which she suspected came from one of the other girls waiting outside the principal's office. Before she could look out the open door to see what was going on when, a very tall, very handsome guy with the silkiest-looking hair she had ever seen ran into her and nearly knocked her over. He barely glanced her way, but when he did a look of annoyance crossed his features. Kagome was incensed; the least he could have done was apologize! So she voiced her thoughts:  
  
"Hey!" she yelled angrily forgetting about the principal and where she was "Why don't you apologize, you jerk!" The young man's eyes briefly showed surprise.  
  
"You shouldn't have been standing in the doorway," he said coolly, ignoring her comment that he was a jerk.  
  
Kaeda interrupted before they could get the ball rolling on their argument. "Sesshomaru, you will be showing Kagome around the school, you both will be excused from the first three periods this morning as well. You two are excused."  
  
"Hai Kaeda-sensei" came the answer. Sesshomaru led the way out of the office and immediately adopted a 3 foot lead on Kagome, which he kept until she said something, which was not long in coming.  
  
"Slow down you moron!" she shouted "How do you expect me to become familiar with this school walking a zillion miles an hour!"  
  
On the inside, Sesshomaru winced and imagined himself away from this loud.thing, but on the outside his face reflected no emotion, and he whirled to face the girl. The movement was so unexpected that Kagome ran face-first into his chest. "Owww!" the muffled voice said. Kagome looked up at him, her big cobalt eyes looking into his gold ones.  
  
"You really need to watch where you're going" Sesshomaru said, unfazed.  
  
"I need to watch where I'm going!" she sputtered, incredulously "You.you were the one who stopped with no warning right in front of me! You, you, you baka!"  
  
This girl was quite interesting to provoke Sesshomaru decided. A small smile almost made it's way to his lips, but he caught himself just in time. "Well if you were walking next to me instead of behind me then you would not have ran into me." He replied, his face and voice deadpan. Wow that really is an interesting color he thought as he looked at her face. Kagome was indeed turning an interesting shade of purply-red and looked ready to burst. Fortunately (for Sesshomaru), the bell to mark the end of first period rang, startling Kagome.  
  
She sighed "I could learn to hate that bell," she stated simply. She realized Sesshomaru was teasing her (and being a jerk) so she decided to just let it go and try to start off being a little nicer. "Could you please slow down a little? I can't walk as fast as you and I'm already really tired," Kagome said politely. Sesshomaru just stared blankly at her for a second. This girl changes moods so quickly he thought as he nodded. They started off as the halls cleared with the ringing of the last bell and Kagome couldn't help but notice all the stares of incredulousness and jealousy she got while walking with Sesshomaru. Nearly all were from girls. There were also a herd of them that had followed them around for a while, saying things in whispers about her and who she was, making Kagome very uncomfortable. Some had shirts with pictures of Sesshomaru on them, others wore long, silvery wigs that looked like his hair. Must be his fanclub. She laughed aloud, causing Sesshomaru to look at her curiously.  
  
"Your name is really a mouthful to say," Kagome began thoughtfully "do you thing I can umm, shorten it or something? Like Sesshy or something?"  
  
"No"  
  
"Well how about Sess?" she pressed.  
  
"No"  
  
"Shomar?"  
  
"No"  
  
"Fluffy?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Just kidding! Unless you like that name, Fluffy-chan." She said while batting her eyelashes. The look on his face was priceless she decided while laughing: his eyes had widened and he was looking at her like she had turned green or something equally unlikely. He growled and said "Cafeteria". Confused Kagome looked around and spotted the cafeteria adjacent to where they had stopped. Sesshomaru was deep in thought on the rest of the tour, speaking only the names of things Kagome should know of like 'gym' and 'restroom'. After a long mental battle with himself, he decided that he liked the sound of her laugh he decided. Kagome stayed cooperatively silent for a while, but soon tired of that.  
  
"Garden" Sess said. He continued to walk, but Kagome stopped at the entrance and then continued in. Sess raised his eyes to the heavens and followed. Stupid girl.  
  
******************************************************* "Wow this place is gorgeous!" Kagome exclaimed when Sess entered.  
  
"Yes, now we have to keep going so I can show you where your classrooms are; you can explore later." Sess was slightly annoyed, but his face didn't show it.  
  
"Alright," Kagome said following him out the door, giving the peaceful garden one last look.  
  
*******************************************************  
  
"Which classes do you have?" he asked as they walked to the stairs. Kagome got out her paper and gave it to him. He frowned as he read down the list.  
  
"You take advanced classes?" he said, still frowning.  
  
"Is that a problem?" she asked sarcastically "Oh I see, you must take the easy classes and not know where the advanced ones are!"  
  
"The classes you have are nearly the same as mine." He snapped. No one has ever gotten to me like this girl has. And no one has been more exciting to provoke, a small voice inside his head answered. What was her name now? He looked on the paper: Higurashi, Kagome.  
  
"Let's get going wench." Sess said concealing his inner amusement.  
  
"WENCH?! WENCH?! I'LL SHOW YOU WENCH YOU."  
  
*********************************************************  
  
Well that's it for chapter two! Jeeze! Six pages! I have a question for anyone who has ever put a fic up on here; well a couple. How can I see whether my fic is like, the right title and everything? When I go to edit story, it just shows me a blank page. So in a nutshell, I have no idea what the heck I'm doing. Help will be greatly appreciated.  
  
Sess/Kag-1  
  
Inu/Kag-0 


	3. A Weird Day

Omg! I have five reviews! I love all of you! Thank you to: rurede, Ramen2, teka356, and glory230. All of you Sess/Kag fans need to get your butts a- typin if you want Fluffy to get Kagome! The vote so far is  
  
Sess/Kag-1  
  
Inu/Kag-2  
  
So, I'm happy that you guys are enjoying my story, please, please, please review! The more reviews, the more incentive I have to write, ergo-I will post chapters more often! Domo arigatou (Mr. Roboto)  
  
Disclaimer: I am disclaiming that I own Inuyasha.-ish  
  
Ch 3  
  
"Finally lunch time!" Kagome said  
  
"Hey Kagome over here!" Kagome looked towards the place where the shout came from and saw Sango waving frantically at her. She sat down and took in the people that sat around her. Sango started the introductions.  
  
Kagome this is Shippo," she said pointing to a red haired boy with a dusting of freckles across the bridge of his nose.  
  
"Hi nice to meet you," Shippo replied, giving a small wave.  
  
This is Miroku, you met him this morning.kind of," she continued. "Miroku, this is Kagome." and trailed off as he leapt up with lightning speed, seized Kagome's hand, and kissed it.  
  
"Yes, how could I forget an angel as beautiful as you?" Sango bopped him on the head again and told him to stop interrupting her.  
  
"As you wish my beautiful lady, the strength of your blows is exceeded only by your beauty, by the way."  
  
"And finally this is Inuyasha, Sesshomaru's brother," Sango finished, rolling her eyes at Miroku.  
  
"Hi!" Kagome said, smiling.  
  
Inuyasha gave her an appraising look and returned to his food and his thoughts while the people around him chattered. She has beautiful eyes, he thought while looking at Kagome, in a weird way she almost looked like Kikyo, his ex-girlfriend, but Kikyo never laughed in public or smiled when she was happy. Her eyes were also just brown, not that deep cobalt that looked like the ocean, which Kagome possessed.  
  
"Well, I run track and do archery mostly, I used to do kendo, but that was too much for me to handle with the rest of my schedule so I had to stop that." Kagome said in response to a question that someone at the table had asked.  
  
"Inuyasha is the captain of this school's kendo team." Sango replied.  
  
"Really Inuyasha?" Kagome asked him. He nodded and she continued. "My boyfriend is the captain at my old school. Actually, he's the one that got me started doing kendo."  
  
"You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend Kagome!" Sango exclaimed. "Do you have a picture?"  
  
"Yeah, hold on a sec." She replied as she rifled through her bag. "Here we go, this is one of me and Hojo at the beach about two weeks ago."  
  
"Wait, didn't you say that you used to live in Matsue? That's almost seven hours away! How will you see each other?" Sango said as she passed the picture to Shippo.  
  
"Hojo has a car; he's coming to see me next week as a matter of fact. He says it will work, but I just don't know." She said with a sigh.  
  
"Feh! How can he be a captain of a kendo team! He's too scrawny!" Inuyasha said after he had wrestled the picture away from Miroku who was panting at the sight of Kagome in a bikini. Inuyasha had to admit, he could see why Miroku was acting in such a manner. Kagome was already getting mad about the derogatory comment to her boyfriend but Sango started laughing.  
  
"Awww are you jealous Inuyasha? That Hojo-kun has Kagome and you don't?"  
  
"Feh! Stupid wench," he said as he tossed the picture back to the now blushing Kagome.  
  
********************************************************  
  
As the group walked out of the cafeteria, Sango and Kagome compared class schedules and found out that they had every class but two with each other: Math and Gym.  
  
"Wow advanced Calculus, I think Inuyasha has that class." Sango said. Inuyasha took a look over Kagome's shoulder and nodded. Her scent was so intoxicating, like rain and sakura blossoms. "In fact," Sango continued with a sly smile, "he has all of your classes!" Both Kagome and Inuyasha were looking at the ground, blushing slightly.  
  
"Lucky mutt." Miroku muttered and was quickly silenced by blows from both Inuyasha and Sango. They walked in silence for a couple of seconds.  
  
"Hey where's Shippo?" Sango said looking around. "Miroku, come help me find him."  
  
"But he's right." Sango silenced Miroku with a hand over his mouth and dragged him off.  
  
***********************************************************  
  
"Those two really need to get a room." Inuyasha said with a smirk.  
  
"I was thinking the same thing." Kagome said dryly and both laughed.  
  
"So you're from Matsue?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome nodded. "Well how do you like Tokyo so far?  
  
"Well I couldn't really tell you," she began "We just finished moving into the new house yesterday, so I haven't even been downtown or anything like that yet."  
  
"Oh.well if you want I could umm give you a tour on Saturday or something," he said, scratching the back of his head.  
  
"Really?" Kagome responded, he eyes shining with delight "it won't be too much trouble or anything?" He shook his head and grinned at her.  
  
"Well now, how did such a pretty thing like that fall into such bad company?" a bemused voice from behind them came. Inuyasha whirled around and growled.  
  
(A/N: I almost was going to be an evil author and leave it at that, but lucky for you, I hate when that happens when I'm reading fics. It'll happen on one of the chapters though, so be wary.muahahahahahaha!)  
  
"Naraku! What the fuck are you doing?" Inuyasha glared at his enemy.  
  
"Hmmm, let's see I'm standing here talking to you," he replied scathingly.  
  
"Inuyasha, what's going on?" Kagome said unsure of the situation. His only reply was another growl.  
  
"Move, you stupid dog, so I can introduce myself to this beautiful woman," Naraku made a move toward Kagome, but Inuyasha blocked him. They glared at each other for a moment longer.  
  
"C'mon Kagome, let's get out of here," Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's upper arm and pulled her with him.  
  
*****************************************************  
  
"Oww, Inuyasha! That hurts! Let go of my arm!" Kagome tried to loosen his grip but he was too strong. "Inuyasha stop!" she tried again, hitting him. He let go with a surprised expression on his face.  
  
"Kagome! I'm really sorry! I was just.thinking." he trailed off. She rubbed her arm as they made their way to an unoccupied bench underneath a tree.  
  
"It's ok I guess," she said "Who is that guy anyways?" Inuyasha's expression darkened.  
  
"He's a bastard. He's really obsessive; he gets his little gang-thing to beat up guys that talk to girls that he doesn't want them to talk to; I'm pretty sure he abused a couple of his girlfriends. Naraku is just an all- around bad guy."  
  
"Not someone I'd want to be around, huh?" Kagome replied smiling a little.  
  
"Nah." He said smiling back. Inuyasha is really cute when he smiles, Kagome thought.  
  
"Hey!" Sango and Miroku had returned with Shippo.  
  
"Inuyasha, I saw Naraku over by you guys; what did he want?" Miroku asked, his face showing concern.  
  
"Feh! He wanted to meet Kagome," he answered.  
  
"I assume you convinced him otherwise." Miroku grinned. Inuyasha's answer was a grin in return.  
  
"Hey guys I'll be right back, I'm gonna go grab a soda," Kagome said suddenly and got up.  
  
*******************************************************  
  
It wasn't really a lie, she was going to get a soda, she just kinda got sidetracked. Ok she was lost.  
  
"Fan-freaking-tastic" Kagome muttered walking through the endless corridors, looking for something familiar. Luck was on her side, and she recognized the hallway leading to the snack and soda machines. As she rounded the corner she ran smack into someone who was coming the opposite way and they both crashed to the ground. She looked down at the person she had landed on top of.  
  
She watched Sesshomaru's expression become it's mask of exasperation and annoyance as she propped herself up above him.  
  
"Wench, can't you watch where you're going," he said. "This is the third time!"  
  
"Every time has been your fault!" she argued "and don't call me wench!" Kagome made to hit him, but lost her balance and fell back on top of him with and 'oof!'. Sess sat both of them up, so it looked as though Kagome was sitting in his lap with his arm around her. Kagome got up and held out her hand to help Sesshomaru up. He ignored the gesture and got up on his own. He looked around to see if anyone had witnessed that embarrassing scene and heard Kagome mutter:  
  
"Jerk."  
  
He glared at her and walked away. Kagome sighed and ran to find her friends before lunch ended.  
  
******************************************************  
  
"Oi, Kagome! What took you so long?" Inuyasha yelled when the group had noticed her walking towards them.  
  
"I ran into Sesshomaru. Literally." She said dryly and took a sip of her drink. Sango patted her shoulder sympathetically. The bell rang, saving Kagome from going into any embarrassing details.  
  
*******************************************************  
  
Yes, some fluff between Sess-chan and Kagome. Don't worry, there will be some with Inuyasha too! I can't put the story going in a certain direction until I have more votes on the couple! And if I have to, I will either (a) post less frequently or (b) stop until I have enough. I know it's mean, but someone has to discipline you guys! Lol. Well, that's all I think I have to say right now. Ja ne! 


	4. Calculus and Card Games

Hey sorry it took me an extra day or so to put this chapter up, but school just started so I couldn't finish it. Plus this lack of motivation (reviews) is gnawing away at my ability to type. Thank you to all my reviewers, I love you all. To all my readers that don't review, do so. This is the last chapter you can send votes in also. Please feel free to ask questions if you are unclear on any of the story.  
  
Ch 4  
  
Kagome had to do the combination on her lock three times before it worked. She was getting her calculus book when a deep voice said,  
  
"Hey there." Kagome jumped and dropped her book. She turned around and saw a boy with turquoise eyes and long black hair smiling at her.  
  
"You must be new." He reached down and picked up her book. "Wow advanced calc., I have that class next too. My name's Koga, by the way." He stuck out his hand.  
  
"Mine's Kagome," she said, returning the handshake.  
  
"Nice to meet you Kagome. Did anyone ever tell you that you have beautiful eyes?" he replied.  
  
"Yeah," she laughed. "Has anyone ever told you that you have beautiful eyes?" He joined in her humor.  
  
"How 'bout I walk you to class." He asked.  
  
"Thanks, I'm still getting lost around here." She replied  
  
He laughed "I know what you mean, this school is pretty big! I couldn't find the track field the first day of practice and had to run extra because I was late!"  
  
"You run track?" he nodded at her question. "Wow that's crazy, I do too!"  
  
"I guess I'll have to show you to the field after school so you don't repeat my mistake." Koga responded as they walked through the door. Kagome heard a growl and found Inuyasha in the sea of students. Koga walked to his seat behind Inuyasha, smirking at him.  
  
"You must be Kagome," the teacher said. "We have assigned seats in this class and the only one that seems to be available is between Inuyasha and Sesshomaru in the third row." Greeeaatt.she thought as she walked over and sat down. Kouga was grinning at her from behind Inuyasha, but he on the other hand, was glaring at her. She looked to her right, at Sesshomaru, but he had his eyes to the front. She sighed and did the same. Suddenly, a piece of paper landed on her desk. She looked around, but couldn't figure out who the culprit was. So she opened the letter:  
  
~Wench, what were you doing with Koga?  
  
Inuyasha  
  
She wrote back:  
  
~Even though it's none of your business, Koga offered to walk me to class, so I wouldn't get lost again. His locker is next to mine.  
Kagome  
  
~Oh ok. You have gym next right?  
Inuyasha  
  
~Yeah how'd you know?  
Kagome  
  
~Remember what Sango said? We have the same classes. I'll show you where the gym is.so you don't get lost. (A/N:can't u just see his smirk!)  
Inuyasha  
  
~Thanks. Can we talk after class though? I don't want to (a) get caught or (b) not understand my homework tonite.  
Kagome  
  
Inuyasha grunted and Kagome could have sworn she heard a "Feh!" from him. She turned her eyes to the blackboard, but a few minutes later another piece of paper landed on her desk.  
  
~Do you like Koga?  
  
Inuyasha  
  
~Yes he's a nice guy. Why?  
Kagome  
  
~Just wondering. Hey watch this.  
Inuyasha  
  
Kagome looked at Inuyasha and he motioned for her to learn back. She did and he threw a piece of paper at Sesshomaru that hit his cheek. He made no movement-his face was expressionless. Inuyasha threw another at him, but this time, Sesshomaru snatched it, without looking, out of the air like a fly. He looked at it and an idea formed. He threw it so it hit Kagome's head. She turned and glared at him, but his eyes were to the front still.  
  
~Your brother is a jerk! And stop throwing stuff! And stop writing or else I'm going to fail this class!  
Kagome  
  
~Yeah I know he is. Don't worry, I'll come over and help you study if you want.  
Inuyasha  
  
Kagome blushed as she read what he wrote. She didn't know what to say so she just folded the note back up. Another two landed on her desk right after that. She opened one up.  
  
~Kagome, Are you busy this weekend?  
Koga  
  
And then the other  
  
~Do you have plans for this evening?  
  
Naraku  
  
All of a sudden, it was a snowstorm of folded paper bits flying onto her desk.  
  
~Hi I'm Hiten, where did you move from?  
  
~Hey my name's Manten, what's yours?  
  
And even some from the girls of the class, though they weren't so welcoming.  
  
~Stupid bitch, don't talk to Sesshomaru again!  
  
~I would feel threatened by the fact that you're near Sess-chan, but your so ugly I don't think it'll be any competition to me.  
  
Kagome looked around, bewildered. She moved her arm and accidentally knocked over a couple of the notes. Sesshomaru picked them up and handed them to her.  
  
"Kagome! We do not read or write notes in class! Sesshomaru! You of all people should know better! You set a bad example by passing notes to Kagome!" the teacher cried. Both identified culprits froze in shock, then the entire class (who had seen what really happened) did a spectacular group comedy fall out of their desks with little anime sweat drops above their heads.  
  
******************************************************  
  
"I can't believe I have detention with Sesshomaru tomorrow!" complained Kagome to Inuyasha as they walked to gym. Inuyasha didn't know what to say so he stayed silent. She too fell silent as they walked along. All of a sudden she felt a hand grab her butt and give it a couple nice pats (not nice for her of course).  
  
"Aaiieeeee!" she screamed and jumped up like a wild salmon.  
  
"You don't know how long I have been waiting to do that!" Miroku said, tears of joy in his eyes. A second later he lay on the ground with red marks on his face, bumps on his head, and little swirly eyes. Kagome and Inuyasha just left him there, to contemplate the wrong he had done to Kagome. They headed for separate sides of the gym, where the locker rooms were.  
  
*****************************************************  
  
Gym class was kinda boring, the class had just taken a hard test the day before and so the coach brought out board games for every one to mess with. Basically it was a free day. Kagome, Inuyasha and Miroku were playing go fish questions. Everytime you got a card from a person, you could ask him or her any question that they would have to answer.  
  
"Any twos Inuyasha?" Kagome said  
  
"Feh!" He handed one over.  
  
"Hmmm ok here's my question: Who was your last girlfriend and why did you break up with her? (A/N: wow Kagome's wasting no time!)  
  
"Her name's Kikyo, she's in this class, but not here today. We broke up because she's a cold, snobby bitch and she cheated on me.  
  
"With who?"  
  
"Ah ah ah!" Miroku said, shaking his finger at Kagome "Only one question per turn. Go Inuyasha."  
  
"Miroku, any sevens?"  
  
"Nope! Kagome, any eights?  
  
"Nope, Inuyasha any sevens?" he handed them over while grumbling. "Now who did she cheat on you with?" Kagome asked a second time.  
  
"Naraku" he muttered "Kagome any threes?" She handed over two. Inuyasha took his two and put the two pairs face down on the ground. "Why would you date a wimpy guy like that Hobo?"  
  
She sighed "First it's Hojo not Hobo. Second, he's a really nice guy. He brings me flowers and stuff, and was there for me when I was going through some tough times. Miroku, any kings?"  
  
"Uh-uh. Inuyasha any fours?" Miroku was rewarded with one. "So Inuyasha, do you think Kagome is hot?"  
  
"NANI?!?" they both exclaimed.  
  
"You have to answer truthfully now," Miroku was grinning from ear to ear. Before Inuyasha could answer however, the coach blew the whistle, which meant it was time to hit the showers. (A/N: Yes, horrible timing, I agree. And I know, they didn't really do any strenuous activity to where they needed to shower but whatever) He jumped up and went to the locker room, mumbling something about the next class, Miroku following close behind him, yelling for him to answer the question. Kagome sighed and picked up the cards.  
  
********************************************************  
  
Kagome walked out of the locker room, to find Inuyasha leaning against the wall. He blushed slightly.  
  
"Come on, we'll be late if you don't hurry up," He said gruffly. They stopped by Kagome's locker briefly to get her books. Kouga wasn't there. Just as well, thought Kagome. They walked in silence to their class. When they got there, the teacher placed Kagome in the desk in front of Miroku, who had Inuyasha on his left. Sango was seated ahead of Kagome. As soon as Kagome sat down, Miroku leaned forward and whispered in her ear,  
  
"The answer was 'yes'."  
  
Kagome smiled and heard Inuyasha grumbling behind her. *********************************************************  
  
Ok finally done with this chapter! Well if this ends up being a Sess/Kag fic, I have a great next scene planned, but even if it is an Inu/Kag, I think I can still incorporate it in somehow. I will take votes for either two days after this chapter is posted or until I get 5 more reviews. Sorry Teka356, but only one vote per person! Speaking of votes though the count so far is  
  
Sess/Kag-3  
  
Inu/Kag-3  
  
Oh my! A tied vote! Come on people, I can't have both of them get Kagome!  
  
~J.curl 


	5. Saviour

Ok, sorry it took me an extra day to get this chappie up, but I think it's a good one! And the most important: The Vote! It was so close I counted like, 8 times! No repeat votes were counted of course, and the winner is..........  
  
Sesshomaru and Kagome!  
  
Sorry to all you Inuyasha lovers out there (hey don't get mad, I was fair.) I know you wanted him to get the girl, but don't worry, he ends up happy! But anyways, on to the next chappie!  
  
Ch 5  
  
"Oi! Wench!" Kagome heard the sound of Inuyasha's voice calling after her as she walked down the main hall. She waited until he could catch up.  
  
"What did Miroku say to you?" he asked.  
  
"Oh nothing, just that you thought I was hot," she said flippantly. Amusement tugged at the corner of her mouth when she saw the look on Inuyasha's face. He immediately removed it and replaced it with an air of nonchalance.  
  
"Feh! I only said that to shut him up."  
  
"Oh" was all Kagome said, disappointed. Inuyasha frowned, he didn't like it when Kagome wasn't smiling.  
  
"Do you want a ride home?" he asked.  
  
"No" she said quietly, "Koga's meeting me at the front of the school to take me to track practice." She got the reaction she desired; Inuyasha immediately flipped out.  
  
"What! That baka probably doesn't even remember how to get to his own house, let alone the track field! You have a crush on him! I knew it!"  
  
"Inuyasha, if you're so upset about it, you can come along and chaperone us if you'd like," Kagome replied sweetly.  
  
"Feh! I just might!" he grumbled.  
  
******************************************************  
  
"Why is dogboy here?" Koga asked, perplexed (A/N: I love that word- perplexed).  
  
"He's chaperoning us. And why do you call him 'dogboy'? For that matter, that's the second time I have heard someone insult him by using some reference to a dog."  
  
"I don't know," Koga replied, "Sesshomaru calles him an 'insolent pup' one time when they were publicly arguing and a girl said he was as cute as a puppy. I guess it just stuck with him."  
  
"Stop talking about me like I'm not here!" Inuyasha yelled. Kagome turned around.  
  
"What? Who are you?" she said with a puzzled expression on here face. She quickly apologized when Inuyasha shot her an extremely pissed look. Koga gave Inuyasha a triumphant smile, so Inuyasha decided to play his trump card.  
  
"Kagome, what time did you want me to pick you up on Saturday?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"Oh, I don't know, whenever is good for you, just give me a call when you decide, or tell me at school." (A/N: for reference, today is Wednesday).  
  
"Where are you guys going?" Koga asked suspiciously. But just as Kagome opened her mouth to tell him, Inuyasha interrupted.  
  
"None of your business!" he snarled. Fortunately, before there was any more ill words, they arrived at the track field. Inuyasha left for his kendo practice, and Koga took her to talk to the coach. Coach Sushi questioned Kagome about her previous track experience and, liking what he heard, decided she could try out for the team tomorrow, even though it was in the middle of the season.  
  
********************************************************  
  
Kagome walked to her navy blue Honda accord, contemplating the track practice, when she was pushed face-first onto the trunk of another person's car. Lips caressed her ear as someone held her down and put a hand over her mouth.  
  
"I apologize if I have startled you, but you see, I wanted to talk to you alone." She recognized the cold voice from lunch and struggled to get free. Kagome kicked at her captor's legs which made him lose his grip on her. She grabbed the arm that held onto her waist, spun underneath it, and punched Naraku's face. A choked yell sounded from his mouth, but he quickly recovered and grabbed a hold of her arms. He pinned her legs to the car with his and a smile tainted with malice formed on his lips.  
  
"You're a bold one girl, but I get what I desire, and no one has the power to stop me." He leaned closer to Kagome's face, reveling in her fury and fear.  
  
"No one?" a bland voice questioned from behind. Naraku's face turned away from Kagome's to identify the speaker. She noticed that his face paled considerably. Naraku was suddenly thrown away from Kagome by the voice's hand on the back of his shirt. "Now leave you worthless imbecile." Naraku scrambled to comply and Kagome's saviour turned, his identity revealed in pale silver and burnished amber. She immediately burst into sobs and threw her arms around Sesshomaru.  
  
*****************************************************  
  
They sat there for a few minutes, Kagome muffling her sobs in Sesshomaru's navy uniform, Sesshomaru standing solidly against the onslaught of her tears. He suddenly grabbed her upper arms and removed her from his chest. He looked her in the eyes and something flashed through them, but Kagome couldn't discern what exactly. He moved to a silver jaguar that was parked close by and got it. Kagome was left standing in the parking lot, wiping away traces of tears, as he drove away. She vaguely heard someone call her name.  
  
"Ka-go-me!" Inuyasha was standing right next to her. "What were you doing with Sesshomaru?" he continued angrily.  
  
"Nothing, Inuyahsa," she said quietly.  
  
"It had better be nothing; his girlfriend is one of the jealous type," he informed her.  
  
"He has a girlfriend?" she said, surprised. Inuyasha nodded in response. Of course he does, she thought. Did you forget you also have a boyfriend? a nasty voice inside her head sounded. She sighed. Why is everything so confusing?  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow, Inuyasha."  
  
"Ok Kagome," he paused. "Are you sure you're ok? He didn't hurt you or anything?"  
  
"No, Sesshomaru came at just the right time and made him leave." Kagome thought Inuyasha was talking about what Naraku did.  
  
"What are you talking about, wench?" Inuyasha was looking at her with a strange expression on his face. Kagome realized he had no clue what happened with Naraku and told him the whole story. When Inuyasha vowed to kill Naraku, Kagome begged him to just leave it alone.  
  
"He looked really scared when Sess told him to leave. I'm sure he won't bother me anymore. Please Inuyasha! It's my first day! I don't want to start trouble all ready!" Inuyasha agreed after lengthy debate on the condition that if Naraku did anything else, she would let him know. He looked at her, and his eyes softened. He brushed the bangs out of her eyes.  
  
"See you tomorrow, Kagome." He let his had fall and walked to his red Mustang convertible. She did likewise and was home in no time. She said hi to her mom, went upstairs, changed into her pajamas, and fell into bed without even eating.  
  
*********************************************************  
  
At the Ito household, Inuyasha crashed through his brother's bedroom door, eyes angry. Sesshomaru was reading.  
  
"Leave Kagome alone," he said murderously.  
  
"Why little brother," Sesshomaru said dryly "would you rather I had let Naraku have his way with her?" Iunyasha lunged at his brother with a roar. Sess grabbed the fist that came at him effortless, then the second.  
  
"You need to learn to control your temper brother," he crushed Inuyasha's fists with his hands, them threw them toward their owner, causing him to stumble backwards. Inuyasha rubbed his hands.  
  
"I wonder what Kagura would think of your interest in Kagome? It almost seems like you care for her." Inuyasha said thoughtfully. Sess snarled and lunged at his brother, pinning him against the wall by his neck with one hand.  
  
"Get. out."  
  
Inuyasha did so, leaving Sesshomaru with the thoughts he had been having earlier, voiced for all to know: Why did he care what happened to her?  
  
************************************************************  
  
So what'd ya think? Please review! Questions are welcome! I love you all! Ja ne!  
  
~j.curl 


	6. Author's Note

I am extremely bewildered. I thought that my last chapter was pretty good, but obviously you people out there reading it didn't agree with me. I am going to wait until I get 5 reviews for chapter five before I post #6. I suggest all of you give sesshomarulover713 a huge thank you. If not for their review and the fact that they put me on their favorites list, it would have been 10 reviews. Thank you for taking time to read my somewhat angry note.  
  
~j.curl 


	7. Incriminating Evidence

Ok wow, I was totally stuck on this chapter for a long time. It still isn't as good as I want it to be but that's ok. I want to get started on a couple more stories that I have planned out. It's August 22, and today I am 17, so here's my birthday present to you-a belated chapter. I love all of my reviewers lots.  
  
Disclaimer: Hey Ms. Takahashi, it's my birthday today, how about giving me the rights to Inuyasha, eh? (Wow that totally rhymed!)  
  
Ch 6  
  
Kagome was woken up by a phone call.  
  
"Hello?" she said sleepily  
  
"Morning sunshine! I didn't get a chance to call you yesterday, but have a good second day at your new school!"  
  
"Oh Hojo! Thank you!" Kagome exclaimed, realizing who it was.  
  
"Well, I have to finish getting ready, so I'll see you soon! Bye!" Kagome said 'bye' back and hung up the phone. She stretched and went to go take a shower. She got out, a fluffy yellow bathrobe around her, and her hair already blow-dried. She put on her school uniform, gave her appearance a once-over, and bounded down the steps to breakfast.  
  
"Kagome, you went to bed early last night," her mother said. "Is something wrong?" Kagome forced a smile on her face.  
  
"Nah, just really tired I guess."  
  
"Ok honey," her mother said skeptically.  
  
*****************************************************  
  
Kagome was trying her lock for the third time (thank god she was early and had time to figure it out before the bell rang) when she suddenly felt like she was being watched. She casually looked behind her shoulder, but everyone was looking pointedly away from her. Great, she thought, now what's going on? Like an answer to her question, a growling noise sounded on the other side of her, accompanied by a tapping of a foot. Kagome turned around and came face-to-face with a miniature Sesshomaru...well ok, it was one of those girls in the wigs, and she did not look happy.  
  
"Higurashi Kagome?" the girl questioned. Kagome nodded. "Will you please confirm that this is indeed a picture of you?"  
  
The said picture was thrust into Kagome's hands. She gasped as she realized what it was. There, in the picture, was her sitting down...on Sesshomaru's lap...on the ground...by the soda machines. She looked up at the girl and nodded, then she gulped, and ran at light speed down the hallway.  
  
***********************************************  
  
Kagome may have been an all star track runner, but hell hath no speed like Sesshomaru fangirls. She rounded a corner and ran through the first door that she saw. It slammed behind her and she leaned against it, trying to catch her breath. She looked up and realized that she was in the school's garden. Well I can shoot two arrows from one bow she thought, I've been wanting to take a look at the garden. Kagome wandered along the stone pathways until she heard the sound of running water. She turned the corner and..  
  
"Are you following me wench?"  
  
Oh she knew that voice. She rounded on the speaker.  
  
"No I'm not! For your information, I'm hiding from those lunatics who worship you! It's not my fault that you happened to be in the garden too!" she yelled and sat down on a nearby bench with a 'humph'. Amazingly, Sess sat down next to her. Then she remembered what he had done for her yesterday. Kagome cleared her throat,  
  
"Listen, I never got a chance to.err, properly thank.." she was cut off by Sesshomaru.  
  
"Do you know what type of flower that is?" He said pointing. Kagome frowned. Was this some sort of pop quiz or did he randomly change topics like that all the time?  
  
"Yeah it's and orchid, my Father got me this silk one on his last trip." She pointed to the yellow one in her hair.  
  
"Does he stay at home now?" Sess asked, rather politely, but still looking ahead.  
  
"No," she began quietly, "he died in a plane crash a while ago." A few minutes passed by when Sesshomaru heard her sniffling and turned. When he did, he saw that tears had started to roll down her cheeks all of a sudden.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." she stopped speaking, but he finished with his low voice.  
  
"To speak of it?"  
  
"I.I'm sorry," he sighed inwardly, she was sobbing her eyes out and asking his forgiveness at the same time.  
  
"You apologize for the wrong things girl." He could not silence traitorous tongue; why did this girl's feelings matter? For that matter, why was he listening to her? She had started talking about her father again, he realized belatedly.  
  
"He was always bringing me little presents and things to remind me of him when he was away." She looked into Sesshomaru's eyes as she spoke. "I guess that's why I started dating Hojo; he always brought me presents too. I knew in my heart that we were just friends, but I couldn't spend the rest of my days with a blank spot in my heart."  
  
They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes when Kagome turned to him.  
  
"I haven't really actually come out and said that before," she attempted a small smile, and, daringly put her hand on his shoulder. He ignored the gesture, of course. "Thanks for listening to me." Unconsiously, both of their faces were inches apart and coming closer by the second. Suddenly, the bell rang and both sprang apart (oh man, I'm an evil author).  
  
*******************************************************  
  
By the time second period English rolled around, everyone at school had either seen the infamous picture or at least heard about it, much to the displeasure of Kagome. It's not like she wanted to be sitting on his lap or anything! Even Inuyasha (not the most observant person in the world) noticed the way her and Sesshomaru were guarding their gazes, lest they be accused of looking at each other. In addition to the swarms of girls glaring at Kagome for daring to touch Sesshomaru, there was an equal number of guys that looked ready to jump Sesshomaru, jealous of whatever was between him and the new hot chick. But no one dared to say anything in front of either; Everyone could see anger in the faces both had miraculous been able to keep in check.  
  
*******************************************************  
  
Oh Kay! It's my shortest chappie yet, and I am still kinda stuck on the story, but I will try to have this whole one done by the first week of September. If anyone could recommend a good beta reader that knows what they are doing(i.e has a few fics under their belt) I would be extremely grateful. I honestly have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, I just kind of wing it right now. Thanx for actually reading my author notes by the way, I know I have the bad habit of skipping over other people's sometimes. 


	8. Enter Kagura

I am sosososososoososoosososososososossosososoososososo sorry! I've had so much stuff to do with homework, 2 jobs and practice! I'll never do it ever! Wahhhhhh! Don't hate me!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't deserve Inuyasha after this!  
  
Friday  
  
Fortunately for Kagome, everyone at school had seemed to forget about what had happened yesterday. Well either that or things blew over really fast. It wasn't until about fourth period when she finally found out why.  
  
*********************************************************  
  
Kagome took her seat in English, which was between Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. There was a buzz of chatter circulating when suddenly everyone got silent. In walked Sesshomaru-holding a girl's hand. Her beauty was unique; she had eyes that looked almost ruby and her dark hair had the same crimson tinge to it. It was a nice picture they made in the doorway, a contast of black and silver, garnet and amber. Kagome sighed, realizing that this girl must be Sesshomaru's girlfriend, and continued getting ready for class to begin. As she leaned over to grab a book out of her bag, she heard a voice quietly clear it's throat. When she looked up, she realized it was coming from his girlfriend. He had already taken his seat next to Kagome and the look in the girl's eyes was clear-move, now.  
  
Kagome, not one to be a doormat, glared back at the girl, her eyes turning a frigid ice-blue, as Sesshomaru noted. He was enjoying this exchange immensely, though none could tell. Kagura had a very strong personality and was one who got what she wanted. Such was clear in the fact she was dating him, and it showed that he admired her spirit. But Kagome had caught his eye as of late as one who wasn't about to be trampled on as well. The altercation should prove to be amusing.  
  
Kagura decided that it was time to voice her command, since this girl chose to be difficult.  
  
"Move." Amazingly, Kagome gave a huge smile, but kept the frosty look in her eye.  
  
"No thanks, I'm fine where I am."  
  
This girl was really trying her patience, Kagura decided. "Do you know who I am girl?" Kagome's answer was to shrug and say,  
  
"No. Should I?"  
  
The bell gave an abrupt ring and the teacher asked Kagura to find a seat. She glared at a girl sitting behind Sesshomaru who burst into tears and ran to the back of the classroom, where other seats were available. A puzzled look crossed the teacher's face, but she shrugged it off and began teaching. Kagome gave a sidelong look at Sesshomaru, letting him know that she was aware of his obvious amusement. His answer was to blink, informing her that he did in fact find it funny. She gave a small growl and rolled her eyes. At the same time, Kagura's eyes narrowed as she took in the nonverbal exchange between the two. Oh yes, she thought, this girl was going to have to go.  
  
*****************************************************  
  
The bell finally rang, and everyone stood up and gathered their books.  
  
"Kagome, Sesshomaru. Remember you must serve detention today after school in the Library," the teacher reminded them. Both nodded, showing that they remembered. Kagura took Sesshomaru's arm and practically dragged him out of the classroom. Kagome waited for Inuyasha to finish getting his things together and walk with her to their lockers.  
  
"Her name's Kagura," he said, noticing the distant look in her eyes as she viewed the couple. Kagome nodded, but stayed silent so he tried again.  
  
"They've been dating for about a year now. She had gone to America to study abroad, but found that she missed life over here and came back." By now the pair had reached her locker, Kagome in her thoughtful silence and Inuyasha trying to get her to talk to him.  
  
"We're still on for that Saturday tour right?" he said, flashing her his trademark grin. It earned him not only conversation back, but a smile as well.  
  
"I wouldn't miss it for anything, Inuyasha." He flashed his grin once more and trotted off, presumably to his locker. Perhaps if he had been more perceptive, he would have realized that the smile was fake, and had never reached her eyes.  
  
*******************************************************  
  
Kagome walked into the gym, looking for Inuyasha and Miroku. She glanced around and noticed to her displeasure that Kagura and another girl were leaning up against a wall talking. It sounded crazy, but the girl talking to Kagura looked like she could have been Kagome's sister.  
  
"Kaaagooomeee!"  
  
That was Miroku. He was waving his arms wildly, even though he was about 20 feet away from her. Inuyasha grinned at her and bonked Miroku on the head. She walked towards where they sat and took her place beside Inuyasha, still wary of Miroku's wandering hands. She looked over towards Kagura and the mystery girl again and found that they were both glaring at her. She rolled her eyes and turned back to the conversation of the boys.  
  
**********************************************************  
  
"Ok class! Today we're going to begin the unit on archery!" Coach Kentaro boomed. Kagome sat up straighter, maybe today was going to be saved.  
  
"I will partner you up, but one group will have three because of an odd number of students," he continued. So he started to call the names of everyone randomly:  
  
"Ito, Inuyasha and Houshi, Miroku. And our group of three will be Higurashi, Kagome, Akimoto, Kagura and Ichiro, Kikyo. Ok folks, out to the archery field."  
  
Kagome was stunned; Of all the people in the class, she was with the two who looked as though they wished her to drop off the face of the earth. She had a feeling this class wasn't going to be pleasant.  
  
********************************************************  
  
"Kikyo, please demonstrate the proper technique for the class," asked Coach Kentaro. She obliged and with a resounding thud, shot the arrow into the center of the target. She demonstrated this a few more times and soon everyone was hard at work trying to figure out how the heck those bow- things worked. Kagura stepped up to a target and shot an arrow into the ring just outside of the bull's-eye. Coach congratulated her on the excellent shot, as well as a few students looking for brownie points. Several students had already made a few arrows onto the targets when Kagome took up a bow. She frowned at its weight; it was too light to have good pull. She grabbed a few arrows, a quiver, and went in front of an unoccupied target. She warmed up with a few bull's-eyes and shot a double (two arrows right after each other with barely a pause between them). She was startled when Coach Kentaro noticed.  
  
"Very good Kagome. I didn't know you were a student of archery," he said with a smile, and walked away to help the students who were struggling. Kagome felt something being pulled through her hair from behind her and whirled around to see Kagura standing behind her, with her yellow orchid clip in her hand.  
  
"Well it seems that some of us get mighty full of themselves just because they can shoot a stick into a circle," she taunted, her voice full of malice. Kagome made a lunge for the clip, but Kagura danced away.  
  
"Ah, ah, ah," she cooed wagging her finger at Kagome. " You don't get this back until we make a deal, ok?" Kagome nodded warily, looking murderously at the girl in front of her. "If you can outshoot Kikyo here, I'll give you the clip back." The girl Kikyo had her eyes downcast and clearly wanted away from the situation.  
  
"And if I can't?" Kagome questioned, eyes level and voice cool.  
  
"Well then I keep it, and you leave both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru alone." Kagome's eyes practically fell out of her head at that one.  
  
"What?! I barely talk to Sesshomaru and Inuyasha is one of my good friends!" Kagura just smirked at her, brushing off the comment, and told someone to get out of the way of a target.  
  
"Kikyo, you can go first. Why not start with a triple?" The girl mentioned indulged Kagura and got two arrows in the bull's-eye, but one outside of the line. Kagura nodded to Kagome who shot the same thing. When it was declared a tie, an ugly look crossed Kagura's face.  
  
"Quad"  
  
Both Kagome and Kikyo looked at each other in disbelief. How could she expect them to hit four when neither had hit three? Only the most experienced archers could hit a quad. As a matter of fact only advanced archers could hit a triple. Kikyo was again chosen to be first. She hit two in the bull's-eye and the other two outside. Kagome took a couple of deep breaths. She felt a sort of power well up in her as she approached the line. She lifted her bow and shot, the arrow hitting dead center. She grabbed the second arrow as the first was still in the air. Kagome didn't bother with aiming now; the target was in her mind and she felt where it needed to go. As she was grabbing the fourth arrow, a gasp of disbelief sounded breaking her concentration and chasing the power away. The fourth arrow hit the line separating the bull's-eye from the circle around it, the only one not directly fixed into the center of the target. She shook herself out of the daze, whirled around, snatched her clip from Kagura, who had made the noise, and put it in her hair.  
  
"I win," Kagome said, and walked away.  
  
*********************************************************  
  
Hope you like! I made it extra long, but it seems weird to me. IDK, whatever. I'll mail you a cookie if you can guess what I have to practice (ex. Sport, instrument, etc.)  
  
Wanted: Beta Reader For Next Fic! 


	9. Hojo?

Ahem. Oops. My sincerest apologies. I've been working on about 6 other fanfics (that I will post once I have them halfway through) and I sort of forgot about this one. So, I'm really, really sorry. Really.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Or Sesshomaru. Or Kagome. Or Kikyo. Or Kagura. Etc..  
  
Ch 8  
  
Kagome trudged to the Library, where she saw Sesshomaru in the front row of desks, reading a giant book. Her calculus teacher looked at her sternly, so Kagome moved to a seat.as far away from Sesshomaru as possible. The teacher cleared her throat and looked pointedly at Kagome, then at the seat next to Sesshomaru. She jumped up and screamed "Why must you torment me further!?"...at least that's what she did in her mind. The real Kagome gave a big sigh and moved into the seat next to Sesshomaru.  
  
***********************************************************  
  
Sesshomaru looked at Kagome out of the corner of his eye. The book was a good prop to allow him to look at her, yet unable to be accused of it. He took in her sullen expression, the pout of her lips, all of it. He was so engrossed in this, he didn't realize the teacher had left for a moment.  
  
"Didn't your mother tell you it was rude to stare?" Kagome hissed. It startled him, but not so much that he couldn't recover.  
  
"I'm reading, wench," he murmured smoothly. Kagome smiled the smile of a cat who has just caught the mouse.  
  
"Is that why you have not turned the page for twenty minutes?" she inquired. As Sesshomaru realized that she spoke the truth, a light blush spread over his cheeks. Seeing this, Kagome burst out laughing, and didn't stop until someone called her name.  
  
"Kagome!"  
  
She turned around and standing there in the doorway was...Hojo.  
  
"Surprise!" he said, oblivious to her shock and indifference to him. He swept her up in a hug, unmindful that she was stiff and not returning it. He moved to kiss her and she turned away. Sesshomaru had no idea who this person was, but no one was allowed to touch Kagome like that! He grabbed Hojo by the shoulder and ripped him away from Kagome.  
  
"Leave her alone," he growled. Hojo, confused and beginning to get a little angry flung Sesshomaru's hand off.  
  
"What's your problem?"  
  
"It is obvious to anyone that Kagome does not want to be touched by you, so leave, now," Sesshomaru answered.  
  
"Why not?" Hojo said, glancing at Kagome, but returning his eyes to Sesshomaru. "I think any girl would be happy to see her boyfriend."  
  
This time it was Sesshomaru's turn to be confused. He looked at Kagome who nodded weakly at him. He threw an angry look in he direction and left abruptly.  
  
********************************************************  
  
"That guy in the library was a jerk!" Hojo said. He had insisted on a tour of the campus, so Kagome had to oblige. She showed him everything except the kendo courts-Inuyasha was practicing there and she didn't want a repeat of the library scene. As Hojo prattled on, Kagome let her thoughts wander to Sesshomaru. Why did he get so angry about Hojo? He seemed jealous, or protective, or something. She would have to talk to Inuyasha about whether his brother had problems with stalking or obsessions.  
  
"Ok that's all!" she said with false cheerfulness when the tour was over.  
  
"Kagome you didn't show me the Kendo courts!"  
  
"Oh. Umm.they don't have kendo at this school," she said. But Hojo just looked at her in disbelief.  
  
"What are you talking about? Shikon High has won the championship for the last two years! Hey, do you know a guy named Ito, Inuyasha? He's the best on the team." Kagome got a sinking feeling in her stomach as Hojo rambled on. How was she going to get out of this one?  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Kagome and Hojo came upon Inuyasha as he was sitting on the ground, panting and sweating. Kagome gave him a shaky smile, and took the bull by the horns.  
  
"Hey Inuyasha, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Hojo," Inuyasha sneered at him.  
  
"The wannabe Kendo master? Too weak."  
  
"Why is it everyone with gray hair around here is so rude?" Hojo asked Kagome, seriously puzzled. Inuyasha immediately jumped up  
  
"Who the hell do you think you are?" he snarled. Kagome tried to stop what she knew was coming.  
  
"Inuyasha, please stop," she begged. Surprisingly, it was Hojo who answered her.  
  
"Just stay out of this Kagome,"  
  
"What?" she said, startled.  
  
"Honestly, sometimes I think it's too much trouble having you as a girlfriend. This is what, the eighth fight I've been in because some guy has a crush on you," he said this half jokingly, half serious. Kagome was furious  
  
"Fine then, maybe it would be better for your health if we just weren't dating," she yelled and stormed away from them.  
  
"Thanks," Hojo told Inuyasha after they both watched her stomp away.  
  
"Huh?" Inuyasha was confused. This guy sounded sincere, and relieved.  
  
"I can't do this long distance thing with her anymore. She's a great girl, and I didn't want to break her heart, but the truth is, I came down here to say goodbye to her." He clapped his hand on the stunned silver-haired boy. "Her being mad and doing it for me makes it easier. Take care." And Hojo left.  
  
"Well, that was the easiest fight I ever had," Inuyasha said to himself.  
  
****************************************************************  
  
Kagome was furious! How dare he say that about her?! She was so irate that she didn't notice Sesshomaru watching her..and deliberately get in her path. Once more, she toppled both of them over, but somehow, they got twisted and Sesshomaru landed on top of her. He looked down at her with a strange look on his face.  
  
"Uh-Uh. There in no way you can blame me this time-you landed on me," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. Kagome saw that he was about to say something and continued before he could even try to blame her. "Aaand, I was making an extremely large amount of noise, so there is no way you can say that you didn't hear me, and we're in an open space so you also can't say that you didn't see me! So what's your excuse going to be this time?"  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
Indeed. A cliffy. I'm such a horrible person! 


	10. Moving too fast

Sorry again guys, I feel like such a jerk, but I've had mad cheerleading, a boyfriend who wants to spend every second with me(not that I mind about that too much), a job who schedules me to work every night and doubles on the weekends, and a friend who just killed himself. So here it/they are, two chapters, just because it's your lucky day  
  
Ch 9  
  
Kagome was furious! How dare he say that about her?! She was so irate that she didn't notice Sesshomaru watching her......and deliberately get in her path. Once more, she toppled both of them over, but somehow, they got twisted and Sesshomaru landed on top of her. He looked down at her with a strange look on his face.  
  
"Uh-Uh. There in no way you can blame me this time-you landed on me," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. Kagome saw that he was about to say something and continued before he could even try to pin this one on her. "Aaand, I was making an extremely large amount of noise, so there is no way you can say that you didn't hear me, and we're in an open space so you also can't say that you didn't see me! So what's your excuse going to be this time?"  
  
"You make absolutely no sense, girl," he said coldly. He had run into her on purpose, but there was no reason to admit it. He got up off of her and did something that surprised even himself. He offered her his hand, to help her up. She looked at it suspiciously, but eventually took it, though cautiously. So when Inuyasha came upon them, it looked as though they were holding hands.  
  
"Sesshomaru! Get off of her!" he yelled. "Why don't you go bother your girlfriend?" Both Kagome and Sesshomaru looked at him, perplexed, but while Kagome's expression remained, Sesshomaru's quickly morphed into irritation.  
  
"Silence, you idiot," he said. Inuyasha just looked at him and yelled some more.  
  
"I can't believe you would try to make moves on Kagome when, a: she just got dumped, b: you have a girlfriend, and c: she doesn't like you!"  
  
"Inuyasha, I never said I didn't......" Kagome began before she was interrupted by a growl. It had come from Sesshomaru, but before she could say anything, he turned and stormed off. Well as close to storming off one can look like, being as graceful as he.  
  
"Are you all right, Kagome?" Inuyasha's voice invaded her thoughts. She was still reeling in confusion on what had just happened.  
  
"Umm yeah,........what?" she spluttered, grasping for her voice.  
  
"Hey, didn't I promise you a tour of the city?" Inuyasha ignored her question.  
  
"Yeah I think so......." She trailed off, confused at the sudden change of topic.  
  
"Well I was thinking, we could go on the tour tomorrow and then go back to my house and have a little welcoming party for you." When Kagome looked like she was going to protest, Inuyasha hurriedly continued. "Nothing big, just like Sango and the people from lunch and anyone else you want to come."  
  
"Well......"  
  
"Come on Kagome! I promise it will be fun." He looked so cute, and he was even smiling a little. Kagome thought she might be starting to like him in a way that was more than friendship. She caught herself smiling back at him.  
  
"You're so sweet Inuyasha, Thank you," she hugged him around the neck and noticed a slight blush on his cheeks.  
  
"Yeah well, give me your number and I'll call you tomorrow," he said, and she told him.  
  
"That's my cell phone, by the way," she added. Inuyasha gave her a quick smile before heading off. Kagome felt her heart beat a little faster. What's wrong with me? She thought. I should be miserable about breaking up with Hojo, not swooning over Inuyasha and Sessho.......What? I'm not swooning over Sesshomaru! I don't even like him like that. Besides he has a girlfriend and we have nothing in common. He is really handsome though........I can't believe I just thought that!  
  
Kagome continued this tirade through her mind all the way to her car. She sat in the driver's seat, just thinking, when her cell phone rang. It was a number from this area, but not one that was familiar to her. Inuyasha already?  
  
"Hello?" she answered in a questioning voice.  
  
"Hello, Kagome." This voice was one that she recognized, but it was definitely not Inuyasha.  
  
"Naraku? How did you get this number? Have you been following me around?" she was nearly frantic, this was way too weird.  
  
"Kagome, Kagome, Kagome. You don't sound at all happy to hear from me." She started to say something, but he interrupted. "Perhaps if you saw me instead......."  
  
That was all Kagome needed to hear. She threw her phone down onto the floor of the car and drove out of there as quickly as possible.  
  
***************************************************************  
  
Inuyasha called her at about 10 o'clock the following morning, sounding way too excited.  
  
"Hey, I'm on my way.......err......where do you live again?" Kagome sighed and told him. "That's only about fifteen minutes from here. Why do you sound like you're still in bed?"  
  
"Because I'm still in bed." There was a slight pause and both of them started laughing.  
  
"Well hurry up and get ready; I won't wait!" he threatened. Kagome yawned.  
  
"Yes you will," she teased and then hung up. She had taken a shower the night before, so she just put on a pair of jeans, a white cotton tee, and a pair of sneakers. She went into the bathroom to brush her hair and teeth and went downstairs after she was done. To her surprise, Inuyasha was sitting on the couch with her mother and had a strange bundle under his arm. When they noticed her, they both got up.  
  
"You don't have time to eat, honey, but Inuyasha said he was going to take you out to lunch anyways," he mom said. "Now hurry up you two, and Inuyasha, have her back by one."  
  
"But mom, that only gives us two and a half hours!" Kagome exclaimed.  
  
"No dear, one in the morning; Inuyasha explained about the welcoming party," her mother gave her a mischievous look.  
  
"Oh thanks Mom!" Kagome exclaimed and gave her mother a hug. She practically waltzed out the door with Inuyasha in tow. "Bye!"  
  
**************************************************************  
  
Hmmm, what's the bundle about? And how did Naraku get Kagome's phone number? Well you won't have to wait because here's the next chapter! 


	11. Touring

This is the second part of the two-chapter deal. So if you haven't read chapter 9 yet, you'll be a little confused. But first, I wan to comment on a couple of reviews that I received (albeit a while ago), one for this story and one for my other one. For this story dhfjsdhf, who wrote me that she had never like Kag/Sess pairings except for my story. As a writer, you can't believe how great of a comment that is. So I want to thank you, ajsdhjsd, for that. The second reviewer, sjdhfjksd, who read my one-shot, 'In Memory Of', I totally know what you are saying about continuing it and giving them a happy ending. I seriously considered it at one point. But there's beauty in the poignancy of it and even more in the tragedy of 'what if'. It was my sincerest wish to have that feeling come across, and it makes me glad that at least one person could make that wish come true. So here's a belated thank you for that review, for those reviews, that made my day.  
  
****************************************************************  
  
Ch. 10  
  
"I'm not doing this anymore, Naraku!" Kikyo yelled. "I was wrong in thinking any association with you could help me win Inuyasha back! You're the reason he hates me in the first place!"  
  
She slammed the phone down on it's cradle and wept. This was a stupid idea of Kagura's. Going to Naraku for help! What was she thinking! It felt wrong, listening in on Inuyasha and Kagome's conversation, and even worse when she gave Kagome's phone number to Naraku. How could she have been so blind and stupid as to help him? All she wanted was to be happy with Inuyasha again. It wasn't fair, what Naraku did to her, to them.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
"Inuyasha, where are we going?" Kagome queried. "I thought you said you were taking me on a tour of the city, not the country."  
  
Kagome hadn't even noticed they were out of the city until Inuyasha had already driven halfway out there. She was too absorbed in her thoughts about what had happened yesterday; the breakup with Hojo, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha's strange behavior, and Naraku's phone call. She shuddered slightly at the last recollection, and Inuyasha, who was holding her hand and leading her through the woods, felt it and asked what was wrong.  
  
"Oh, nothing really. I don't even know why I shivered." He took the answer in silence and it stayed that way until she posed a question.  
  
"So, where are you taking me?"  
  
He stopped abruptly and pointed  
  
"Here."  
  
In front of her was a massive tree. It's roots fanned out from it's trunk, cradling a mossy patch of earth, while it's lush foliage arch up and over, shading it from the intense light.  
  
"I just wanted you to come and see this," he explained. "I found it one day after my mother died. I was just wandering around in here, lost or whatever when there it was. I knew you would appreciate it."  
  
"Oh Inuyasha, I'm so sorry; I had no idea your mother had passed away." Kagome murmured.  
  
"Yeah about two years ago." He paused "I can't explain why, but this tree helps-it comforts me."  
  
"When you sit in that space, I bet it feels like it's cradling you."  
  
"It does."  
  
He began to unwrap the bundle he had kept with him since he had come to get her. It had some rice and other simple food items in it. He began to spread out the blanket when Kagome questioned him.  
  
"Inuyasha? Shouldn't you save this place for someone...I don't know...more special?"  
  
He stopped and looked up at her, his gold eyes serious.  
  
"But you are special to me Kagome," he said. "I thought you knew that."  
  
She opened and closed he mouth, not knowing how to respond to that. She cared for him, but only as a friend. She didn't know how to say that though, without having him think that she just didn't like him at all, as buys sometimes do. He saved her the trouble though.  
  
"But I don't want you to worry about it though. I know you have enough on your mind."  
  
She startled when he said that. Did he know about Naraku's phone call?  
  
"What's the matter? Your face is as white as a sheet." He paused. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought you and Hojo up."  
  
Relief flooded into her like hot tea.  
  
"Oh that's all right Inuyasha. I was thinking about it and I realized that me and Hojo weren't meant to be. I was telling Se...Sango about it a couple days ago."  
  
Kagome bit her tongue. Inuyasha would just get angry if she mentioned Sesshomaru. She smiled at him.  
  
"So are you ready with that picnic, or am I going to have to steal your car and drive back to civilization?"  
  
***************************************************************  
  
"Huge!" Miroku elaborated, throwing his arms into the air. "He wants a giant party for Kagome!"  
  
"Umm, Miroku? I thought Inuyasha said..." Sango tried to say.  
  
"He said everyone that could come!" Miroku eyed the couple of girls in the group of people he was talking to. "Bring bathing suits too!"  
  
He ducked the arm that Sango swung towards his head.  
  
"See you tonight!"  
  
"You know Miroku, when Inuyasha gets mad about this, I'm going to tell him I was never with you." Sango said, shaking her head, once they were out of ear- shot.  
  
**************************************************************  
  
"So what do you want to see next?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome laughed.  
  
"Everything! No, seriously, you pick. I like all the places you've taken me so far."  
  
"Well how about I take you back to my house and you can help me set up for the party?"  
  
"Really?" she asked. "What time is it?"  
  
"It's almost six-thirty."  
  
She looked at him, incredulous. Time with him had gone by so fast! She was lucky to have such a good friend. He was so funny, and fun to be around. And she told him so. He blushed.  
  
"Yeah well, I just wanted you to have a good time."  
  
"Thanks Inuyasha," she said, her eyes bright. "I did."  
  
"I still am," she added and he smiled back at her.  
  
***************************************************************  
  
The first thing Inuyasha and Kagome noticed that was out of order was the large amount of cars parked in the vicinity of his neighborhood. As they pulled up to his house, or rather mansion-that's how large and imposing it was, they heard loud music coming from it. Inuyasha's brow was furrowed and Kagome kept her expression carefully blank. They walked to the front door, and when he pulled it open, what looked to be like hundreds of people looked back at him. Kagome watched him as he stood there, boiling.  
  
"MIROKUUU!" the yell was deafening. "I'mm goiinng too killll youuuu!!!"  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Thank you. Only a couple more chapters and then I think it will be finished finally. Unless of course there's a public outcry for more. No. It'll still be the end. 


	12. Pool Party

Ok I totally realized that the two names on my author's notes form the last chapter I left as random letters, as per my custom when not knowing the word I need. So being the totally lazy author I am(as you all must know by now) I'll just write what they are now. So,  
  
The first name, dhfjsdhf is also mentioned as ajsdhjsd, that person is Aysa18.  
  
The second name, sjdhfjksd, was my one-shot reviewer, Kitty, Queen of the leprechaun.  
  
For some reason ff.net won't let me do my lines of stars, so I'll just do really big spaces, or 3 dots like this...  
  
...  
  
"MIROKUUU!" the yell was deafening. "I'mm goiinng too killll youuuu!!!"  
  
"Calm down, Inuyash a," Kagome said soothingly. "It's........"  
  
She was interrupted by a loud yell from a group of girls standing nearby.  
  
"Ladies, Ladies, I........." Miroku started to say, before he spotted Inuyasha standing in the doorway, furious. ".......I, uh gotta go!"  
  
He bolted followed closely by Inuyasha. Sango tapped Kagome's shoulder seeming to mysteriously pop up next to her. She handed her something small and navy blue.  
  
"We stopped by your house and got your bathing suit, this was the only one your mom could find." She added, "I hope it's the right one."  
  
Kagome inspected the pieces of material in her hand.  
  
"Umm well, I wish you had gotten my black one. This one's a little um, small."  
  
"Well let's go change," Sango said. "I waited for you so we could hit the pool and hot tub together."  
  
"Hot tub?" Kagome questioned. "Now you're speaking my language!"  
  
... "So where's Miroku?" Sango asked Inuyasha, who had just joined her and Kagome in the hot tub. It was hidden by a veranda overflowing with jasmine, and could only be gotten to by a slender rock path. Consequently, they were the only ones in there.  
  
"Uh, He was pretty dazed after I got through with him," he said as he eased into the heat. "He'll have some bruises on his head for a while."  
  
"Are you just going to let everyone run around here?" Kagome asked. "I mean, what are your parents going to do?"  
  
"Well, they're out of town this week, and as long as everyone stays away from Sesshomaru, he won't say anything," he answered.  
  
After a while, more people decided swimming was a good idea, and the pool was soon filled. Kagome decided it was getting too hot and the three of them got out of the hot tub to join the party.  
  
"Oy, Kagome, are you trying to give some guy a heart attack?" Inuyasha exclaimed, looking her up and down. She tried to stretch the teeny bikini's material to cover more of her.  
  
"Sango was the one who picked it out!" she said defensively.  
  
"It was the one her mom gave to me!" said friend yelped.  
  
"Is it really that bad?" Kagome asked worriedly. She was about to find out.  
  
...  
  
"Hey Kagome, lookin' good baby!" Kouga called out, to a chorus of wolf whistles and other colorful comments.  
  
"Show off," Kagura muttered under her breath, gulping down sobs. She was the reason Sesshomaru broke up with me, I just know it.  
  
...  
  
(FLASHBACK: 15 MINS AGO)  
  
"Kagura, I don't think we should be together anymore." He was so calm and collected; nothing ever fazed him, nothing.  
  
"But......why?" she asked, choking back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. She wouldn't show that he was hurting her, that was not the way to keep someone like Sesshomaru.  
  
"I don't like what you've become, and some the people and activities you've become involved in."  
  
Did he know about Naraku? Kikyo must have told him. That bitch. She just wanted to scare Kagome a little. It wasn't like Naraku would actually do anything to her.  
  
"It's over." And with that he walked away, leaving her seething.  
  
...  
  
Kagura walked by Kagome, who was standing at the edge of the pool, looking suspiciously at Inuyasha and Sango, along with Miroku, who had since recovered and been forgiven. They were trying to coax her into the slightly chill pool.  
  
"It feels good Kagome," Sango said.  
  
"Not cold at all," Miroku added. At that moment, Kagura knocked into her, sending Kagome tumbling into Miroku. Sans her bathing suit top.  
  
Kagome and Miroku looked at each other in shock. Her bare chest, which was by no means small, pressed against him. Miroku recovered first and glanced down.  
  
"Well maybe it is a little cold," he smirked. She shrieked.  
  
...  
  
Kagome's top was recovered, Miroku was beaten soundly and Inuyasha and Sango were deep in conversation.  
  
"She did it on purpose, Inuyasha, we all saw her," Sango said.  
  
"Yes, but why?" he asked. Sango took a deep breath.  
  
"Listen, I don't know what she has against Kagome, but she's gotten Naraku involved in it also," she saw he was about to explode into yelling, so she silenced him and continued. "Don't say a word about this, not even to her; she didn't want me to tell you. Naraku somehow got her phone number, her cell phone and has called, harassing her."  
  
"Why didn't she tell me?" he hissed. Sango shrugged.  
  
"Didn't want you to get involved in it, I guess, I don't know."  
  
Inuyasha shook his head.  
  
...  
  
"Kagome, could I talk to you, please?" Kikyo's voice was soft, as if she expected Kagome to land a blow on her. Kagome looked at her suspiciously.  
  
"Please?"  
  
...  
  
"So let me get this straight. Naraku was lying and you never cheated on Inuyasha with him? But he wouldn't talk to you because he was so mad." Kikyo nodded assent to Kagome's summary of her story. "And Kagura convinced you to try and get Naraku on with me......why?"  
  
"I don't even really have a good reason for that, at least not one that makes sense. Kagura somehow convinced me that if Naraku had a thing for you and Inuyasha found out, he wouldn't want to be with you," she explained.  
  
"But......I don't even like Inuyasha like that!" Kagome exclaimed.  
  
"But he likes you like that," Kikyo answered. "He took you out to the place in the forest, by the oak tree already, didn't he."  
  
"Yes, but..." Kagome was interrupted.  
  
"Inuyasha has had many girlfriends, not all long, but a couple of months for some. He has only taken two people to that place he holds so close to his heart, you and I. And don't lie to me. Your feeling for Inuyasha run deep, any fool could see it."  
  
Kagome was silent for a long while. When she suddenly grabbed Kikyo's hand.  
  
"Come. We need to have a long talk with Inuyasha." 


	13. Confusion

Well well well another chapter. It feels like I just updated a couple days ago, but according to ff.net it was more like a couple weeks ago. So, so sorry, so sad, read on.  
  
Disclaimer: I disclaim Inuyasha. (I haven't done that in a while.)  
  
.................................................................................................................................  
  
Sesshomaru rubbed his temples, trying to massage the thought of Kagome out of his mind. When did I start to care about what she does? He picked up a book and tried to concentrate on studying, a challenge when he knew she was just downstairs, a small stroll for him to be able to see her. He angrily slammed the book shut.  
  
"This is ridiculous," he said to his room. She's not a stunning beauty, she has nothing about her that was even remotely attractive! Then why can't you stop thinking about her? The truthful voice inside his head reminded him. He shook it, silver hair swaying, trying to clear his mind.  
  
"I'll go find her," he vocalized, trying to assure himself aloud that he had no feelings for her. Talking to myself?, he thought, frowning, Something is wrong with me?  
  
.......................................................................................................................................  
  
Okay, so maybe Kikyo was right. She did have feelings for Inuyasha, and it took the thought of losing him to realize it. He was, after all, the one who was always there for her when she needed it, even more so than Sango. It was the right thing to do though, and that's why she did it. Wasn't it? Or was she trying to make him choose? He and Kikyo had a lot of history, was she trying to prove that she was the one he preferred? Was she that transparent? It didn't even matter in the end, he would probably never speak to her again.  
  
Kagome gulped back a sob. Not like anyone would hear her, way up here. The library she had ran to after what had happened.  
  
......................................................................................................................................  
  
"Inuyasha, I think there's someone you need to talk to," Kagome began, as Kikyo stepped out of the shadows. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed and Sango slipped away silently.  
  
"Why are you here," it was more an accusation than a question and his voice was eerily devoid of any inflection. Kikyo recoiled with tears in her eyes.  
  
"It was a lie," she blurted out. "Naraku started that rumor that got together. I swear to you, I could never do that to you, Inuyasha! Please, please believe me!"  
  
Kikyo was sobbing, but Inuyasha stood coldly aloof.  
  
"Why should I? What proof do you have?"  
  
"Well...none, really. I..." she faltered.  
  
"I see, you just expect me to believe you," he said icily. "Who are you trying to fool, Kikyo?"  
  
"Inuyasha? I can't believe you would be so cruel! She was just..." Kagome began indignantly, but she was rudely interrupted.  
  
"Fuck you! You don't know what the hell you're talking about Kagome! This has nothing to do with you!"  
  
The shock showed on her face. He turned around.  
  
"Everyone, Get out of my house! Now!" he faced the weeping Kikyo and the stunned Kagome.  
  
"Everyone," he repeated, in a deadly whisper.  
  
.......................................................................................................................................  
  
Sesshomaru walked around his eerily silent house. Only moments ago, the pool was filled with young idiots, shouting and carousing. His brow furrowed in confusion as he crossed the pool deck to return inside the house. Even Inuyasha was absent.  
  
Sesshomaru ascended the stairs and walked through the main corridor. The muffled sounds of weeping reached his ears as he passed by the half-opened door of the library. It was her. Sesshomaru breathed a little more heavily, and yet did not even notice.  
  
"Kagome," he said, his voice rough. "What are you doing?"  
  
It was dark in the library, but he could see the shadow of her sitting on a leather armchair. He thought the sniffle was the only reply he would receive, but she followed with her voice.  
  
"Nothing. I mean....me and Inuyasha got into an argument. I....don't really want to talk to him right now, so I'm......I was going to....." She trailed off, finally realizing that she made no sense whatsoever.  
  
"Do you need me to take you home?" he asked. She looked at him and nodded gratefully, and he could see that her eyes were still wet with tears.  
  
.........................................................................................................................................  
  
Sesshomaru lay on his bed staring at the ceiling, with his hands underneath his head. Thinking.  
  
........................................................................................................................................ (Flashback)  
  
The ride to Kagome's house was silent. She was not ready to tell him what had happened and Sesshomaru was not interested at the moment. He wanted to prevent another deluge of tears; besides, he would learn from Inuyasha anyways.  
  
They arrived and he got out of the car to open her door. She sat in the bucket seat for a few moments and then rose abruptly. Her sapphire eyes met his amber gaze, both their expressions solemn. Her tiny hand reached around to the base of his head, right where it met his neck, and she pulled his face down to hers. Pulled his lips down to hers.  
  
Sesshomaru didn't know who broke away. He just remembered her touching her lips, turning and running up to her door. This girl.......his thoughts trailed off as he mimicked her actions and felt his own lips. He sighed and rolled over, mentally reminding himself to 'talk' to Inuyasha tomorrow.  
  
........................................................................................................................................  
  
Well it's a shorter chappie, but I figured with some drama and fluff you guys wouldn't kill me. When I started this story I had a clear ending for the plot, but when Amreld complained in their review that I could not end the story after a few chapters, I realized that no I couldn't. I had put too many things in that wouldn't be able to be resolved in 2 or 3 chapters. Plus I read the story through and it seemed to go way, way, way too fast. So, disregard that last author's comment for now and I suppose the story will end itself in time. 


	14. Together Again

I'm sosososososossos sorry. I'm a freshman in college now and it has just been crazy trying to get everything done! So I'm going to try and finish up this story and start on it's sequel. Yes there will be a sequel; everyone send cookies to Amreld for writing a review that triggered the thought in my mind. And Amreld, you weren't whining, that was my odd way of trying to complement you. Since is being gay, pov change is actually written, in parenthesis: (POV).

Disclaimer: I don't own anything touched by the hands of Rumiko Takahashi

Everything was moving so fast. She needed to slow down. Inuyasha...Sango...she felt like she knew these people for years instead of weeks. They just came into her life, so accepting, so welcoming; it was hard to remember that she had only a vague idea of their pasts. She should have known that Inuyasha would be angry at her for interferring in his life. She should have known that doing the right thing would only cause problems. And then! And _then!_ She had to go and _kiss_ Sesshomaru! Inuyasha's brother! The Ice Prince! Who was seeing a girl that harbored an unfettered hatred for her! But...it felt so right.... Kagome sighed. _Life isn't supposed to be this complicated!_

(POV)

Inuyasha was angry. How dare Kagome talk to Kikyo! How dare she try to make _him_ talk to her!

"Inuyasha."

"Go away Sesshomaru!" he snarled.

"No. You will tell me why I found that girl crying in the study last night." The elder brother spoke coolly. Inuyasha rose his head to look at him.

"Kagome? She was crying? How did she get home?"

"I took her," was the reply.

"She tried to have me talk to Kikyo. Kikyo tried to say Naraku had started the rumor that she cheated on me with him. I got pissed and yelled at them and made everyone leave." Inuyasha shrugged. "Kikyo was probably lying, and Kagome shouldn't have got involved."

"It would not weigh on the conscience of Naraku to do such a thing," Sesshomaru mentioned after a moment of silence, then turned out of his brother's doorway, leaving Inuyasha to ponder his words.

After a while, Inuyasha picked up the phone, his hand hesitating over the numbered buttons. He replaced the reciever onto it's cradle and stood up, grabbing his car keys off of the nightstand. He ran a hand through his hair and proceeded to head downstairs.

(POV)

The doorbell rang. Kagome went downstairs to answer it.

(POV)

Inuyasha rang the doorbell. The chime was familiar.

(POV)

Kagome opened the door.

"Hey, what's up?" she said, surprised.

(POV)

"Can we talk?" Inuyasha asked the raven haired girl.

"Of course, Inuyasha, come in," Kikyo replied, somewhat shakily.

(POV)

"Come on in Sango," Kagome made the motions with her hand. "You look..."

Kagome stopped, unsure how to describe her friend.

"What happened last night?" Sango began, but then stopped Kagome. "Wait, Naraku got arrested last night."

Kagome gasped.

"For what?"

"Battery," Sango replied with a wave of her hand. "But tell me why Inuyasha flipped out last night."

Kagome obliged, and proceeded to recount the night before's happenings.

(POV)

Sango sat back on the couch.

"Well I don't know what to tell you. I guess just leave him to cool off a bit before you talk to him."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right Sango. But that'll be hard when I have to see him in every single class that I have tomorrow," She added.

"Sango..." Kagome hesitated. "I just moved here, and while I think of all of you as the best friends I have here, I have no idea about anyone at all."

Kagome saw the confused look on Sango's face and tried to elaborate.

"Inuyasha, his past, I don't know what went on with him and Kikyo. It wasn't my place to try and fix everything. I don't even know why I tried."

Sango looked at her friend thoughtfully before answering her.

"You know...sometimes people just click. It doesn't matter if they've known each other for a couple weeks or not. That's how we feel about you Kagome. Inuyasha, was angry because..., well because that's how he is. He cares about you Kagome, and he won't let something like this come between the friendship that he has with you." Sango stopped her speech to give Kagome a mischevious smile. "Or the relationship he wants to have with you."

"What?!" the blue-eyed girl exclaimed.

"Oh come on, like you didn't know this!" Sango had an enormous koolaid-grin on her face. "We all know you guys have a thing for each other!"

"Me and Inuyasha are just friends!" Kagome yelped.

"Yeah right! And Miroku's hand accidentally grabs people's butts 28 times a day!" Sango retorted.Kagome just smiled back weakly.

"Thanks Sango."

(POV)

Monday:

Kagome grabbed her books out of her locker when Inuyasha came up.

"Kagome!" He said joyfully, a huge smile on his face. Kagome's books were taken out of her hands and thrown back into her locker. Before she could protest, She was swept into the offending male's embrace.

"Oh, Kagome," Inuyasha said into her hair. "Thank you."

Kagome pulled away with a confused look in her eyes.

"Thank you? For what?" Her hands were still in his.

"For helping me to see. What happened between me and Kikyo was a lie, a misunderstanding," he elaborated.

"I...wh.........huh?" Did anyone ever explain what they meant around here?

"Me and Kikyo are back together!"

Inuyasha stood there with a goofy frin on his face. He seemed so...happy.

"Oh, sure Inuyasha. I just did...the right thing." Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but fortunately Inuyasha had to get his books still, and told her he would see her in class.

The rest of the day went by in a daze. Kikyo joined Inuyasha in the classes they shared and at lunch as well. Kagome excused herself from the group and walked to the garden. She knew she would find him in there. But the question was, why did the thought of just being around him suddenly make her feel better?

(POV)

"Sesshomaru? Can I talk to you?" Kagome sat down beside him hesitantly.

"You are doing so anyways," he replied. She gave him a cross look.

"Inuyasha's back with Kikyo."

She was silent for a long time, so Sesshomaru commented.

"You are disappointed."

"I...well, yeah, kind of. It's not like I had a claim on him or anything, we were just friends." She sighed.

"But you think you care for him on another level." Kagome nodded at him. "Such emotions are for weaklings."

Kagome's temper flared at that.

"Oh really? What about your feelings for Kagura?"

Sesshomaru gave her a bland look.

"I hve no feelings for her. She served a purpose and now that I will be leaving this place in a matter of weeks, she is no longer needed."

A/N: ouch, harsh...

"And what purpose was that?" Kagome all but yelled.

"To keep those annoying females away from my person."

"I can't believe you Sesshomaru!" Kagome was yelling now. "No one is that cold or heartless! You..."

She was cut off by a pair of lips on hers. The action took her breath away. He slowly removed his face form hers, looking into her eyes.

"Kagome..." he stated simply.

"What was that for?" Sesshomaru didn't answer her question, but merely rose and walked away.

"What was that for?!" she yelled louder to his retreating back.

(fin)

Well once again, I apologize. I'll try to get this done within the next couple of weeks.


	15. An Ending

The (time lapse) thing is indicative of...you guessed it...a time lapse. This chapter is way confusing, mostly because the characters are confused themselves. If you've ever had feelings for someone, but you don't know if they like you, or if you'd be doing the right thing by being with them, you can relate. Plus, it's hard to make Sesshomaru care, and be unfeeling at the same time.

Her yells did not fall on deaf ears.

_What was that for? I can't tell you that Kagome, because I don't know._

In truth, Sesshomaru did have a partial answer. He did it because he wanted to, because something in him told him to. He was not one for wearing his heart on his sleeve at all. Romance and relationships were a waste of time for him right now. He wasn't lying when he told Kagome that he used Kagura as a front and a deterrent to his so called 'fan club'. But he was graduating soon and wouldn't need a false relationship in college; the women there were too mature to chase after a guy they thought was handsome.

That still didn't resolve the problem of why he kissed Kagome. Just as he had too much honor to lie to another person, Sesshomaru also believed he was above lying to himself as well. He didn't deny that he enjoyed being around her. He didn't deny that he was unhappy that she was hurt. He didn't lie to himself and say that he didn't want to take her back into his arms that very moment and kiss her again, and again, and again.

No, Sesshomaru was above lies. So why was he still walking away?

He stopped and turned around. She was standing in the hallway. Her eyes were wide and a blush was beginning to form on her cheeks. He gave a little half smirk.

"Because I wanted to."

"Oh, good." Kagome said softly. When a flash of confusion passed through his eyes she gave him a weak smile. "Because I wanted you to."

Sesshomaru had no answer to that. No sarcastic comment. No sneer.

He wondered why he couldn't turn away from her. Tune her out like he did everything else in his life. He tolerated her, yes. Sometimes he liked spending time with her. That was it. He had no feelings beyond that. He had no feelings for her.

Wait. That wasn't right. He just admitted to himself that he had feelings for the girl.

No, not feelings. He just...

There was no point to dating her anyways. He would be at college in a few months and away from the immaturity of secondary schooling.

He was thinking about dating her?

Why not? He enjoyed being around her. That was more than he could say for Kagura. But, he only kept Kagura around to fool the rest of the idiot females in this school. She was a cover. Is that what Kagome would be?

"Sesshomaru..." Kagome's voice broke into his warring thoughts. "Do you want to go to a movie or dinner or something on Friday?"

He looked at her with those beautiful gold eyes.

"Dinner will be acceptable. I will come get you at eight."

_Noooooo!_ Part of him screamed.

_Holy crap, I just asked out Sesshomaru. And he said yes!_ Kagome thought. _Wait...what?_

_You wuss. _The other part of Sesshomaru admonished. _At least she had the guts to ask you._

(time lapse)

Sesshomaru took Kagome to The Phoenix, a very classy french eatery. A part of him wanted to impress her, but the other half argued that it wasn't as if he didn't eat at places like these all the time. But Kagome was most definately impressed. Sesshomaru had called her beforehand and told her to dress somewhat formally. She had chosen a dark blue dress with a slightly-paisley flower-and-vine pattern done in a sort of powdered shade of the same blue. It had faint needle-thin loops of silver in it as well. The dress was haltertop, with a low back and V-cut front, and a tie going aroung the back at chest level to ensure nothing embarrassing would pop out. It came about 2 inches past her knees with slits on either side slightly below mid-thigh.

When they had arrived at the restaurant, Kagome realized she could have worn a formal gown and not looked out of place.

Though Sesshomaru was not much of a talker, he found himself engaged in the nearly nonstop conversation provided by Kagome. He mostly asked questions to prompt Kagome about herself and her past, but soon after the soup she switched to asking questions about him.

"Where do you think you'll be going to college, Sesshomaru? Tokyo University?"

He paused for a moment.

"It is a possibility."

"Oh good," she smiled, "I would think you might decided to go farther away."

He remained silent.

"What will you major in?" she continued.

"Business management. I am the eldest son, so I will be taking over Youkai Corporation when I reach the appropriate age."

"Oh that's right. I forgot that your family owned it."

_Forgot?_ he thought, puzzled.

"This is really nice Sesshomaru. Thank you for taking me."

And now she was thanking him for what other girls expected.

"Kagome, would you...date me exclusively?" He was expecting a screech or something of that nature. So when she stared at him for a long time, he was slightly curious.

"Sesshomaru...I..." she hesitated, but then a slow smile appeared on her lips. "Yeah, I would."

(POV)

Was she doing this just to spite Inuyasha? Dating Sesshomaru as an answer to Kikyo?

No. nononono. She really liked about Sesshomaru. He was a good guy once you got past that aloofness.

(POV)

He had decided. He would be with Kagome until graduation and then he could leave. She'd get over it. She got over his brother in less than a day.

(time lapse)

"Thank you again, Sesshomaru. I had a good time with you tonight." Kagome was facing him, but had her head down. He put two fingers underneath her chin and lifted. His lips pressed against her once, firmly.

"As did I with you. Goodnight...Kagome." A shudder ran through her body when he said her name. His voice caressed the syllables fondly, embraced her name.

He smirked at her and got into his car. Kagome waited until he turned the corner before she started to the front door.

(Break)

The news of Kagome and Sesshomaru's relationship spread quickly throughout the large school. So quickly that Inuyasha heard from other people before he heard from Kagome. He was...less than happy.

"I can't believe you would date Sesshomaru, Kagome!" Inuyasha all but yelled. He had found her on her way to lunch and all but shoved her into an empty classroom.

"Is it because he's your brother, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked sympathetically.

"Yes! And because he's a bastard!" Kagome was beginning to get angry.

"No he's not! He's a perfect gentleman!"

"Oh yeah, right!"

"You...You're just jealous!" The outburst left a buzzing silence.

"No, I have Kikyo, Kagome," Inuyasha said softly. "I'm sorry for yelling. I was just...surprised that you would be dating...him..."

"It's ok. I'm sorry you had to hear it through rumors, and not from me," Kagome stuck her hand out. "Friends?"

Inuyasha pushed her hand aside and gave her a hug.

"Friends." He held onto her for a long time. "I don't know what it is about you, Kagome, that makes me feel the need to protect you."

"Just lucky, I guess," she smiled at him. "Uh, can you let me go so I can get to class?"

"Oh, oops."

(POV)

Kagura remembered how she felt when she heard. Defeated. She didn't want revenge on Kagome anymore, she just wanted to go away. Away to someplace new, with new faces. She didn't want to be here anymore.

Tears ran down her face.

(fin)

Ok. You know how I said I had a clear ending for this story? Well, since I decided to do a sort of sequel/continuation...I don't. So, I'm not sure on the sequel anymore, but there will be a sort of epilouge thing or whatnot. I don't even know. I'm exhausted on this story, but I hate it when authors just up and stop writing. I think it's because I've grown up since I started writing it, and now it seems...not childish, but...not well written to me.


	16. An Answer

I know this is only an author's note and technically not allowed, but I replaced ch. 15 with what it was supposed to be this whole time (ch 16) and took down the original ch. 15 because it was NOT supposed to be up.-----------------------7d51f511618013e--I'll have the entire fix revised and reposted by the end of the year...I know, I know, seems like a long time. Well people, I have to go to college, I have a boyfriend, I have a job, I have 3 other fics that I'm currently working on and posting all at the same time, and another fic that I'm working on and have not yet begun to post. So give me a break, or better yet, offer to help; betas are always useful.

Thanx,

j.curl


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